From Dublin to Belfast

We have now made our way to Belfast after leaving Dublin on Wednesday. I really really enjoyed Dublin. It had a great big city feel but it looks very old and historic. It reminds me a lot of london but more centralized and smaller. We have done tons so far on our trip. We had a historic walking tour of the city (which was sooo boring and way too long at 3 hours), I went to a church service at St. Patrick's cathedral (which was soo different from anything i have every experienced), we went to the Guinness factory-it was really cool to learn how it was made and at the end of the tour you get a free pint at a bar on the top floor that has 360 views of the city. it was so cool! we also went to the national gallery which had tons of famous paintings. it was so wonderful and refreshing to walk through a museum. overall Dublin was a great place to start our trip out at. it is not all to different from the states so the culture shook wasn't too much either.

We arrived in Belfast by bus on wednesday. Belfast is completely different from Dublin and and a total culture shock. Coming on this trip i did not know the history of the troubles and the reasons for the violence of the past. i have been learning soo much since being here. it is so crazy to thing that people are still being killed here simply because there belong to a different religious group. it is even more unsettling to know the tension does not even seem to be religious anymore...it is more like the people here have gotten into a bad habit and are not willing to break it. on our first night here in one of the protestant neighborhoods a bomb was set in a house killing a family. The killings were done by catholics and because of retaliation. (don't worry mom...we are not staying near that area). It is just a completely different way of life here. i'm usually very independent and not frightened easily but i definitely feel slightly unsettled in this city and i'm not comfortable at all going out alone, especially at night. the guys on our trip have been really good and making sure to go out with the girls at night so they are not alone. last night we went to a place called mornington community project which is a place designed for protestants and catholics to come together and they provide social services for people. it is a wonderful organization and a sign of hope and the changing times here in belfast. there are people here who are willing to change their prejudices toward others and are making great strides towards a better future. it leaves me with a sense of hope in the furture of belfast as i have been learning all about the troubles and the violent past history in this city. i don't think that belfast will be my favorite place on the trip but it may be the place that i will learn the most about and take away the most from. my eyes are being open to the hardships of the world around me and to the daily struggles that people experience on this side of the world. Tomorrow we are going to the west side of north ireland to Derry where "the trouble" began in 1969. i'm sure it will be another eye opening day as we hear first hand accounts of people who have lived through it. Well there is still so much i could say about my time here in belfast so far and just how much i've been learning but my time at the internet cafe is up so until later...i love you all so much and i'm starting to become slightly homesick and realizing that i'm going to be away for the next 3 months. until recently it has felt like a little vacation but now i'm realizing that i will be away for a whole semester. so send me emails and updates...i'd love to hear from you!

We made it to Dublin

So we after almost 30 hrs of being awake and on the go we made it to Dublin!! It was soo beautiful flying in. So green! The flight over was just alright...we had tons of turbulence. I definitely was feeling a little queasy. We only lost one piece of luggage out of the whole group of 47 so that was pretty successful. We are staying in the dorms at Trinity College. It has that old university feel...definitely different from westmont. The rooms are nice, suite style but only one tiny bathroom and shower for 12 people to share. On our first day here we went to Glendalough which is a like a national park about 1 hour out of the city. It was absolutely breathtaking. We hiked to waterfalls and to the lake. The water was warm and sunny for most of the day. We had a picnic lunch next to the lake and then just lounged for about 2 hours. They wanted to give us a nice and relaxing day before all the craziness of school starts. We had our first group dinner tonight and are planning on exploring the nightlife. Tomorrow we have the day off. So of course our whole group is planning on going to the Guinness factory...when in Dublin! The group is great...soo much fun!! It's looking like it is going to turn out to be an amazing semester.

I leave the country in 10 hours!!!

So by popular demand I will attempt to "blog it" (thanks ken). I make no promises as to how often I will update this thing or even how much time I will have to do it but I will try. So we'll see how this goes...I can't believe I actually leave today! It still feels a little unreal. I'm still in the process of packing and if you know me at all then you know I'm a chronic overpacker so this whole 45lbs for 3 1/2 months thing is going to be a challenge for sure. I'm going to miss you all so much. To the girls in Summerland I loved our converstation last night! I don't think I've laughed so hard at absolutely nothing in so long nor have I broken out in to song so much in a 30 minute span. And remember...it is a no-fun zone :-) Well it's coming down to the wire and still have so much to get ready so bye for now!! You are all in my prayers.